Oil rose above $67 a barrel on Friday, gaining for a fifth session, “as a stronger demand outlook and signs of economic recovery in China and the United States offset rising COVID-19 infections in some other major economies,” Reuters reports.
Oil has recovered since pandemic-induced lows in 2020.
China’s Q1 GDP jumped 18.3% year on year, official data showed on Friday, and on Thursday, figures showed a rise in US retail sales and a drop in unemployment claims – all good news for the forecasted demand for oil globally.
Figures on Wednesday also showed US crude inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels.
Brent crude rose 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $67.20 a barrel, heading for a weekly gain of about 7 percent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $63.62, according to Reuters.
Although Saudi Arabia is full steam ahead with economic diversification plans, the energy sector is still key to powering that investment long-term and in generating revenues for the Saudi government. Oil has recovered from pandemic-induced lows last year, helped by record cuts to oil output orchestrated by Saudi Arabia as de facto leader of the OPEC+ group of countries.
